Practice question · Multiple choice
What problem does the theory of Forms answer that arises directly from the Socratic elenchus?
Hints
- Consider why the definitions offered in the early dialogues keep breaking down.
- They give examples of just acts rather than what justice itself is, yet the term still applies to new cases.
Show the answer
B. Definitions by example keep failing, yet we apply terms correctly to new cases
Why
The dialogues fail because interlocutors give examples rather than the thing itself, yet everyone applies "just" correctly to new cases, so something must be shared. Plato’s answer is that the thing itself exists as a Form.
Practise The Minor Socratics and Plato
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